Wow. What a treasure. The Kearns Mansion is where the Governor of Utah and his family reside. It is…read morea gorgeous home built in 1902 with free tours by Preservation Utah. Decorated for Christmas made the one hour tour even more special. The tour normally includes just the main floor with the parlor, study, dining room, kitchen and pantry. But right now they are also taking guests up the grand staircase to the ballroom. The original art is fabulous. The wood work, plaster work, murals, all gorgeous. The history shared about the Kearns family and past governors was interesting. And the Christmas decorations were the icing in the cake. Take advantage of this free tour which I believe is offered in the summer and part of November and December. Park in the free lot off of H Street and they will let you enter the East gate right on the hour.

I had the absolute pleasure, privilege, and joy of watching my son get married in this beautiful…read morehistoric courthouse this past summer! It was a perfect, elegant venue and the staff involved made a typically stressful situation seamless and so easy. A courthouse has been at this location in one form or another since the first one was built in 1866, then a second larger one in 1872, leading to the most current neoclassical Greek style building you see today - built in the 1920s. It's massive and opulent - full of marble, statues, balconies, chandeliers, and art deco stained glass! It's well worth a stop if you're exploring the area - even if you aren't part of a wedding. About a month prior to this, my son and his then-fiancé decided to cancel all their original plans, do something much smaller, and they moved up the wedding date by several months - so we were all scrambling to pull this off inside of a month to say the least lol. I had to help the kiddos plan everything out last minute - which would've been chaos except I found this beautiful venue pretty easily by doing a google search of historic courthouses in the area. And it was even easier after that bc they have an online appointment booking system for marriage licenses and wedding ceremonies. In less than one week we had appointments booked and all the basic plans made! The kids were able to get the license easily and effortlessly - what a relief. The day of the ceremony we showed up and waited in line for less than 10 mins. Bc we originally were going to use their officiant, we had a scheduled appointment for their ceremony room etc. But bc my now-DIL was having her ordained uncle perform their vows, we didn't need the ceremony appointment after all and were free to perform the ceremony anywhere we wanted. We absolutely loved the interior of the main courthouse and asked if we could have it in there without an appointment etc. Since our party was pretty small (there were 14 of us), they happily gave us permission as long as we kept the noise level reasonable bc there are offices inside with employees etc. And there were no fees for holding it there so that was a nice bonus. Everyone we encountered inside the building was friendly and helpful and we had the place to ourselves the whole ceremony! It ended up being such an incredible ceremony and experience - better than we ever could've expected. The staff were also very obliging in regard to the photography - I made sure to bring my camera of course lol! Getting to photograph my son's wedding made it that much more special. It's the only time I've ever photographed humans haha!! And likely the only time I ever will lol! The grounds are beautifully manicured and make for some excellent photo ops as well - especially with all the mountains in the background. There's plenty of free parking surrounding the buildings and it's all flat and very walkable. Huge Ty to all the staff at the courthouse for helping to make our big day so special!

This is a beautiful courthouse in downtown Provo. Utah County clearly paid great attention to…read moredetail in restoring and upgrading the building. It has a historic, palatial feel as everything is glossy and new with an old-timey style. The outside of the building has a traditional neo-classical courthouse design complete with marble pillars and carved fresco at the top. The marble stairs leading up to the main entrance are also impressive and clearly made by hand. Inside, there are offices for community organizations, as well as the American Legion on the top floor and second floor, with a few courtrooms on the bottom floor. There is also a marble statue on the main floor. It appears that the courthouse also serves as a community space. We stopped by during the Freedom Festival on the 4th of July and they had an art exhibition on the main floor. Everything was super clean and it was clear that everyone respected the space. Overall this is a neat stop to make if you are in Provo on a trip or looking for a short and interesting activity. Five stars!

Free, quick, bedazzling spectacle. The imagination entices the devil to go sliding down those…read moreparallel limestone slabs. + To view, turn out to the side view area for safety. I saw trucks were able to park onto the curb for extra distance. ~ Not sure you can hike it. I wanted to. But as you can see, it's just dense shrubbery at the top. Can you believe this attraction formed 100 million years ago? O_O

Located along the highway, look for the blue "Scenic overlook" sign to pull into a roadway parallel…read morewith the highway, seperated by jersey barriers. This is a super quick hop out to take some photos and get back on the road. No service, just the geological formation. The cliff notes on this formation are: about 170 million years ago this area was under the sea. 2700 feet of sediment were deposited over the life of that sea and about 75 million years ago a "mountain- building episode" tilted the sea bed into a verticle position. The harder stone has withstood the wind and rain better than the softer stone around and between, creating this slide. When you think about how old this thing is, it's pretty cool.

We enjoyed wandering up and down the historic main street and Park city. They were lots of T-shirt,…read moreshops, restaurants, bars, galleries... A lot to look at and admire. We passed Western shops as well as ski and bike shops here. Many of the old buildings had plaques on the walls. There is a free trolley that goes up and down Main Street. There were public restrooms and lots of shady benches to sit and catch our breath as we've wandered.

Great mountain view Main Street in Park City, Utah. The street reminds me of a better, more upscale…read moreversion of Durango. Full of shops up and down the 3-4 blocks, you can find great art, souvenirs, restaurants, bars and outfitters. The street is appropriately named- the Main Street. Don't skip on these places: Riverhorse, Palomino, Nelson Cottage, No Name Saloon, Park City Museum, High West Distillery, Alpine Distillery, Le Depot Brasserie, Mumbai House and Mountain Town Olive Oil.

Hidden gem. This historic building now hosts a number of displays as well as an art gallery…read more Originally built as a school, it is now been preserved with the efforts of the Peteetneet preservation committee, and with the help of Payson city . The former cafeteria includes a a stage and is used for mini community events. The annual petite neat Christmas boutique, which is held the first Friday and Saturday of December invites the community to visit with Santa for free as well as purchase various goods from local vendors and enjoy entertainment from several youth performing arts groups. Beginning this year, 2022, a new O scale train display has been set up in the art gallery for the public to enjoy.

This was a spontaneous decision. We went to Payson to visit with a friend but she wasn't ready for…read moreus to come visit yet, so we had to find something to kill the time. We came across this place and decided to check it out. It was a nice experience. When we entered there were a few older woman, who seemed happy to be able to help. One of them gave us a tour and told us about certain people who were important and explained to us what we were seeing. We would had loved to get the tour on the second floor but had to leave. It was a pleasant time and loved what we learned.

Historic fort and trading post along the California, Oregon and Mormon trails. The fort takes up…read moremuch of the outdoor displays including parade grounds, officer quarters, commissary, etc. One area is dedicated to the Bridger family property who ran the Trading post. This area includes a well, ice house, wash house and other out buildings. Many of the buildings have plexi-glass at the doors and windows that you look in during our visit. We were able to enter the Commanding Officers home, Bachelor Officer Quarters, the Museum and the trading post. A wooden walkway or concrete pathways make the property mostly wheelchair accessible. The trading post is across grass, gravel and a wooden bridge. A couple of signs near the Bridger property have braille. We spent a couple of hours on property and could have spent more. All staff were friendly. Plenty of local and national history. Parking is a dirt lot. Three RV's were parked long way next to the concrete stops when we arrived while cars parked head-in. Entry is eight dollars non-resident plus 3% credit card fee. Four dollars for state residents.

Wonderful road trip stop for a step back in history! There are some interactive stops, two gift…read moreshops, and plenty of photo opportunities! It is like an open air museum in all of the best ways! Another major plus...dog friendly! The $8/person rate for out of state ($4 for residents) did seem a bit steep but it keeps things running which is great! Glad we stoped by!

"I, ..., do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I…read moream an employee of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God." -- Oath sworn by Pony Express Riders When Abraham Lincoln was victorious on Election Night in 1860, how did the citizens of Salt Lake City hear about their new President? Well, they found out 8 days after the election through the courtesy of the Pony Express. It covered nearly 1,700 miles, the distance from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA. There were 184 stops along the way, some just to swap horses, and some offering overnight accommodations to the riders. This 1960 monument on South Main Street is a stone base with metal plaques honoring the 100th anniversary of the Pony Express. Circular plaques honor the 3 founders, a rider on a galloping horse, and a dedication that reads "This monument marks the site of the Great Salt Lake City Station of the Pony Express, St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA. Inaugurated April 3, 1860.

Unfortunately you are not allowed to go inside for obvious safety concerns, but the building itself…read moreis so cool to see. Originally a paper mill owned by Deseret it had a fire in 1893 and was never fully repaired. Over the years it was partially restored as a rec center along with other things. After you snap a few photos take a drive up Big Cottonwood Canton which is nearby .

pretty scary but honestly amazing place to take pics, it lowkey looks haunted but nothing happened…read morewhile we were there